Wagon-body and hay-rack lifter.



W. 0 WILSON. WAGON BODY AND HAY RAGK LIFTER.

- APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 190 8.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I INVE NTOH WILLIAM E. WIL 5 UN By ATTORNEYS W. 0. WILSON. WAGON BODYAND HAY RACK LIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.'28, 1908.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTO'H VVILLIAM E.' W1L 5 DN A TTOHNE Y8 w. 0, WILSON. v WAGON BODYAND HAY RACK LIFTER. APPLICATION FILED PHIL 28, 1908.

906,349. Patented Dec. s, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

*cs-"iza"-" WITNESSES I INVENTOI? WILLIAM ENV'IL 5mm ATTORNEYS 1n:zvonms PETERS 50., WASHLNGIOH. u. c

WILLIAM 0. WILSON, OF LIVERMORE, IOWA.

WAGON-BODY AND HAY-RACK LIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 28, 1908.

Patented Dec. 8 1908.

Serial No. 418,286.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM 0. WILSON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Livermore, in the county of Humboldt and State ofIowa, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Bodies andHay-Rack Lifters, of which the following is a specification.

Wagon body lifters have heretofore been constructed in which twoparallel bars were loosely pivoted to the upper ends of two radiallyswinging posts having fixed fulcrums at their lower ends and betweenwhich two parallel bars, the wagon was driven and the wagon bodyreceived upon the parallel bars, which swinging upwardly from the draftstrain lifted the wagon body upon the rising parallel bars, thus freeingthe wagon body from the subjacent running gear, which latter being thusseparated from its body, permitted the running gear with its wheels tobe drawn out from underneath the detached and elevated body. In suchconstructions of wagon body lifters difficulty has been experienced insecuring a proper registration of the wagon body and running gear whenthe latter is to be reconnected to the body.

My invention consists in an improved construction of wagon body lifter,in which special provision is made for bringing down the wagon body inproper relation to the running gear when it is to be reconnected, thusavoiding all heavy lifting and making the reconnection of the wagon bodyto the running gear automatic as well as its disconnection from therunning gear.

My invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of partshereinafter shown in the drawings, in which- Figures 1 and 2 aresideelevations of my invention applied to a hay rack, Fig. 1 showing theposition of the parts when the wagon is driven into the apparatus, andFig. 2 re resenting the hay rack as lifted from the su jacent runninggear. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 33 ofFig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4; is a detailperspective view from the front with parts broken away. Figs. 5 and 6are detail views showing the means for locking the wagon rack to theparallel lifting bars and for releasing the same at the proper time.Fig. 7 isa side elevation of my invention showing it applied to abox-shaped wagon body, which latter is shown in its elevated or liftedoff position, and Fig. 8 represents an underneath perspective View of abox-shaped wagon body and its attachments for adapting it to use withthe wagon body lifter.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, there are two fencepanels arranged parallelto each other and a distance apart sufiicient to receive between them anordinary farm wagon. These fence panels consist each ofthe horizontalbars C, C, and the vertical posts C, C, C, the end posts of which areanchored into the ground as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in fulllines in Fig. 7. These fence anels are strongly fixed so as to beimmovab e and have an inward inclination at the top as shown in Fig. 3for the purpose hereafter described. To the bottom bars of these fencepanels are pivoted the lower ends of the radially swinging bars B, B,whose upper endsare pivotallyconnected on each side to the horizontallift bars A, and which latter are given a parallel movement and alifting action by the swing of the bars B about their lower centers.These parallel motioned lifting bars rising from the swing of theradially moving bars have already been employed in wagon body liftingdevices and I make no broad claim to the same. The rear ends of theparallel bars A are cut to an incline d and their forward ends haveinclined elevations e and notches n. The up er surfaces of theseparallel bars are sheathedwith metal straps to stand the frictional wearagainst the portions of the wagon rack or wagon body slid ing thereon.

The wagon rack as ordinarily constructed overhangs the running gear ofthe wagon sufliciently far to overlap and rest upon the two parallelbars A, A, on opposite sides as seen in Fig. 3. This wagon rack consistsof the transverse bars R, the longitudinal floor lanks R and thelongitudinal sills R which atter fit between the stanchions E of therunning gear. At the front end of the rack there is an elevated andrigidly attached A- shaped frame R, on the upper portion of which isfixed a bearing a to receive a vertical guide bar H. This vertical guidebarextends through the rack at a and extends down to the tongue of thewagon as seen in Fig. 4. The lower end of this guide bar is reduced indimensionsand when the rack is to be elevated it is made to take theplace of the ivot bolt or hammer which is ordinarily emp oyed forconnecting the double-tree G to the tongue F.

' I, I, are draft rods, which are connected at their upper ends to theguide rod H by means of a bolt passing through the same and also througheyes in the ends of said draft rods. The lower ends of these draft rodsare in like manner secured by means of a bolt i to one of a series ofholes in the wagon tongue F, which holes are reinforced on o positesides of the tongue by means of metaFplates.

At the forward ends of the parallel bars A, see Figs. 5 and 6, justbeyond the notches n there is provided a swinging lock device J made inthe form of a U-sha ed clevis. This lock device is connected to t efront ends of the bars A by means of a bolt b which passes through avertical slot 0 in each of the bars A. A transverse bolt 1) is alsoarranged in this U-shaped locking piece and an upright stud c is fixedon the upper surface of the end of each bar A. The object of thislocking device is to connect the cross bar R of the wagon rack to thelifting parallel bars A so that the draft strain of the wagon shallcause said bars A to rise with the swing of the bars B, or allow theparts to be disconnected as hereinafter described. Fig. 5 shows thelocking of the wagon rack to the lifting bars and Fig: 6 shows thereleased position of said locking devices on said lifting bars. Toconnect the bars A to the wagon rack, the looking device J 'is turnedfrom its pendent positionshown in Fig. 6 and lifted until its bolt 6 isdropped behind the stud c, the slot 0 permitting the other bolt 1) torise during this lifting of the locking piece. When the looking piece Jdrops to the position shown in Fig. 5, it will be seen that the notch orof the lifting bar is closed on both sides and forms a seat, whichretains the transverse bar R of the wagon rack, so that for movement ina horizontal plane, the bars A are compelled to partake of the movementof the wagon rac i, which causes the bars A to rise with the radialmovement of bars B and so lift the wagon rack from the subj acentrunning gear.

The operation of this portion of my device is as follows: Assuming thatthe running gear is provided with a wagon rack as seen in Figs. 1, 2 and3, whose cross bars R are wide enough to project over the parallel barsA when the wagon is driven between the two fence panels carrying thelifting bars the cross bars R of the wagon rack ride up' upon theinclines d of the parallel bars and move forwardly on the upper metalsurfaces of the parallel bars, causing, when bar F. drops in notch n,the bars A to rise and the bars B to swing to an upright position asseen in Fig. 2. The front cross bar R of the rack is locked into thenotch n, Whose outer end is now closed by the locking piece J, so thatthe rack can pass no further in horizontal direction and is liftedentirely free from the subj acent running gear of the wagon. Thiselevated position of the wagon rack is seen in Figs. 3 and 4, from whichit will appear that as the wagon rack rises its bearings at a and a moveupwardly over the vertical guide rod H, which is temporarily attached tothe running gear and to which the draft strain has been imparted by theentry of its lower end into the bolt hole of the double tree and tongueand the inclined draft rods 1. It is now necessary to disconnect the hayrack from the running gear before the latter can be removed from beneaththe rack to receive another wagon rack or wagon body. To do this theinclined draft rods 1 are disconnected at both their upper and lowerends and the vertical rod H is lifted out and in the place of the same avertical bolt or wagon hammer is placed in the hole in the double treefrom which the guide rod H is taken. The running gear of the wagon bodymay then be withdrawn from beneath its elevated hay rack, which remainssupported on the parallel bars until needed again.

It will be seen that as so far described, the vertical rod H serves as adraft attachment to compel the wagon rack to advancehorizontally withthe subjacent running gear during the operation of lifting the wagonrack, but this rod has another and very important function, in that whenthe wagon rack is to be again fitted to the running gear, it forms ameans by which accurate and easy registration and readjustment of thewagon rack to the running gear is automatically secured without anyheavy lifting and in an easy and quick manner. Thus, for instance,supposing the wagon body is to be readjusted to the rack, the wagon bodyis passed between the two fence panels in position beneath the rack andthe pivot bolt or wagon hammer which connects the double tree to thetongue is removed. The guide rod H is then inserted into the bearings aand a in the wagon rack and the running gear of the wagon is adjustedbeneath the guide rod H until the hole in the double tree and tongue isexactly beneath the lower end of the guide rod H. The latter will thenslip into this hole and takes the place of the bolt or wagon hammer connecting the double tree to the tongue. The inclined brace rods I arethen made to connect the tongue F with the guide rod H above the bar Rof the hay rack and the lock ing device J being now thrown to the openposition shown in Fig. 6, when the draft strain is applied to therunning gear, this strain transmitted through the draft rods I to thehay rack, causes the hay rack to move off from its seat in the notches nof the parallel bars and drops down upon the subjacent running gear. Inthis falling movement of the hay rack the vertical guide rod H, it willbe seen, compels the rack to descend upon the running gear in an exactlycorrect position, thereby saving all heavy lifting in the effort tosecure accurate adjustment and completing the automatic reconnection ofthe hay rack to the running gear.

As the box-shaped form of wagon bodies is much narrower than theordinary hay rack, I have provided special means to enable the box bodyto be lifted off in the same manner as already described in connectionwith the hay rack. In such case, see Figs. 7 and 8, the vertical guiderod H is formed at its upper end with a goose-neck h to which the draftrods I are directly bolted. The guide rod H has a loose bearing in theforward structure of the wagon box, so that the latter may rise and fallover the guide rod. To the front end of the wagon body are attached twoloops 7c 7c, one arranged on each side and ada ted to receive adetachable cross bar K, w ose length is great enough to allow it toextend over and ride upon the tops of the parallel lifting bars A. Tothe rear portion of the sides of the wagon there are also attachedprojections 0 near the bottom of the side bars and a peculiarly bentyoke M is provided, whose middle portion extends across the top of thewagon body and is then bent down on each side at m, then extendedforwardly at m and is then rojected away from the wagon body in aorizontal position at m This yoke M is detachable from the Wagon bodyand after it is adjusted transversely across the top of the wagon bodywith its ]part m beneath the projections 0 of the wagon ody, the ends mproject horizontally far enough to ride upon the upper surfaces of thelifting bar A, as seen in Flg. 7. The action of the lifting andreadjusting of the wagon body in relation to the running gear is thesame as already described in connection with the hay rack. Thedetachable yoke M and cross bar K bein all that is necessary to adaptthe relative y narrow wagon body to cooperation with the same liftingdevices, which are designed for the hay rack.

To maintain the parallel lifting bars A at any predetermined point toadapt them to the heights of different wagons, a post P is rigidlyconnected in vertical position to each side panel of the fence and has aseries of perforations in its u per end to receive a bolt, which when inp ace, will hold the inclined ends d of the parallel bars in theproper'relation to the bearing points of the wagon rack or wagon body,irrespective of the height of the same.

As will be seen in Fig. 3, the fence panels with the lifting devices arearranged in inclined position'with their upper ends converging towardeach other. This secures two important results. In the first place itrenders the structure a more perfectly braced one as against lateralmovement, and it also gives room at the lower portion for the hubs ofthe wheels and for the application of two parallel guide rails D, D,which are fixed rately positioned in order to secure registrationbetween the guide rod H and the tongue connections of the running gear.

I claim- 1. In a wagon body lifter, the combinanation with the runninggear and the body lifting devices; of a vertical guide rod fixed to therunning gear, and a wagon body part having a hole through it in whichthe vertical guide rod plays, to secure accurate registration betweenthe running gear and wagon body in forward and backward direction duringthe rising and falling movement of said body.

2. In a wagon body lifter, the combination with the -lifting devices; ofa vertical guide for securing registration between the wagon body andrunning gear during the rising and falling movement of the body,consisting of an upright rod arranged to have a sliding connection withthe wagon body at its upper end, and a connection with the draftappliances of the running gear at the lower end.

3. In a wagon body lifter, the combination with the lifting devices; ofa vertical guide for securing registration between the wagon body andrunning gear during the rising and falling movement of the body,consisting of an upright rod arranged to have a sliding connection withthe wagon body at its upper end, and a connection with the draftappliances of the running gear at the lower end, and an inclined draftmember connected to the tongue at the lower end and to the upright guiderod at its upper end.

4. In a wagon body lifter, the combination with the lifting devices; ofa vertical guide for securing registration between the wagon body andrunning gear during the rising and falling movement of the body, saidguide being made in the form of a detachable rod having its lower endformed to enter the hole through the double tree and tongue ordinarilyoccupied by the tongue bolt or wagon hammer. (p

5. In a wagon body lifter, the combination of two stationary side panelsarranged at an incline converging toward each other at the top,parallel-motion bars with radial swinging upright bars pivotallyconnected to the same and arran e also at the same inclination and guideupon the panels.

6. In a wagon body lifter, the combinaswinging upright bars ivotallyconnected to the same and arrange also at the same inclination andguided upon the anels, and horizontal and parallel guide rails arrangedinside the panels at the lower portion of the same below the level ofthe Wagon hubs.

7. In a wagon body lifter, a parallel-inotion lifting bar having a notchat its front end, a rigld upward projection outside the notch and atransverse slot below the projection, in combination with a swinginglock member havinga cross bolt playing in the slot of the lifting barand another cross bolt adapted to look behind the upward projection onthe lifting bar.

8. The combination with a wagon body lifter; of a Wagon body havingprojections; on its side and a yoke piece made with its ends bent, firstdownwardly, then horizontally 15 along the length of the body and thenat right angles to the body.

WVILLIAM C. WILSON.

Witnesses JOHN RUMMENS, L. D. HACK.

